ABSTRACT
Guarana is an evergreen, high-climbing, woody vine, with or without tendrils, which wraps around the tall trees of its native Amazonian rain forest. In the lush, Brazilian Amazon, it often grows to 12 m (39 ft.) in height. However, when cultivated, it becomes a sprawling shrub about 2 m (6½ ft.) tall, typically extending over an area with a diameter of approximately 4 m (13 ft.). The small, pear-shaped, leathery fruit (about 7 mm or 1/4 in. long) is a yellow or orange-red, three-sided capsule. When ripe, it becomes partially open, usually exposing one (or up to three) black or greenish seeds, which are covered at the base with a white §eshy material (technically called an aril). When European explorers rst reached South America, they observed guarana being cultivated. According to one missionary, certain Indian tribes valued it in the same way as Europeans valued gold. The indigenous people of the Amazon rain forest used crushed guarana seed as a beverage and a medicine. Guarana was used to decrease fatigue, to reduce hunger, and to treat diarrhea, arthritis, hangovers from alcohol abuse, and headaches related to menstruation. In the Western World, guarana is marketed mostly as a herbal or dietary supplement, shamelessly claimed to greatly boost energy, sex drive, mental abilities, and athletic performance, to stimulate weight loss, to remove pain (or “produce a buzz”), and to help stop addiction to smoking. The vast majority of guarana is grown in a small area in northern Brazil, with initial attempts underway to cultivate the plant commercially in other countries. It is uncertain when exports began to the Old World, but the use of guarana in Europe was documented in 1775. In Brazil, guarana owes much of its popularity to the stimulation produced by its high caffeine content and the widely held belief in its rejuvenating and aphrodisiacal properties. Several of the most popular commercial brands of guarana preparations contained very little or no guarana until recent Brazilian legislation, aimed at supporting growers, made the inclusion of at least a small amount (60 mg/L) compulsory.
